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Catholic bishop charged with a child sex offence
By Rachel Olding
Sydney Morning Herald
June 29, 2014
http://www.smh.com.au/national/catholic-bishop-charged-with-a-child-sex-offence-20140629-zsqad.html
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| Charged with a child sex offence: Bishop Max Davis. |
One of the most senior members of the Catholic Church has been charged with a child sex offence, the church has confirmed.
Bishop Max Davis, who was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1998, has stood aside from his post as bishop of the Australian Defence Force while the matter is before a Western Australian court.
He has been charged with abusing a student at St Benedict's College in New Norcia, Western Australia, in 1969 when he was a teacher at the school.
A Western Australia Police spokeswoman said the victim was 13 at the time.
It is believed Bishop Davis, 68, who was elected Military Ordinary Bishop of Australia in 2003, is the first bishop in Australia to be charged with child sexual assault.
"The bishop emphatically denies the allegation and the charge will be defended," a statement from the Catholic Military Ordinariate of Australia said.
The statement said the alleged assault occured before the bishop was ordained.
Bishop Davis grew up in Perth and served in the Royal Australian Navy in the early 1960s before being ordained in 1971, according to a 2003 article in Catholic Weekly.
He has served as chaplain on various ships and bases in Australia and overseas.
Bishop Davis has been charged with three counts of indecent treatment of a child under 14 and he will appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on July 25.
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